The Mystery of the Black Boy Mon Mar 24, 2008, 11:00 AM, Radio 4 FM Lemn Sissay explores the demise of the Black Boy as a name for a pub. The origins of the term are shrouded in mystery and many stories are in circulation. Some believe that it is c
Read more…Synopsis Ian Peacock discovers why certain smells can transport us back to our childhood. Our olfactory perceptions are increasingly being recognised by scientists as the foundation for many of our decisions and actions, from consumer loyalty to weig
Read more…Apparently Anglomania is found in the oddest place. The Gemans have a love affair with everything British
Read more…BBC World Service The Strand (extract) Tuesday 15 September 2009 Mark Coles talks to John Curran. Agatha Christie is the world's most popular author, with more than 2 billion books sold in more than 100 countries. This month two new Poirot sto
Read more…A Very Theatrical Revolution Broadcast Thu 28 May 2009, 11:30 Dominic Dromgoole, artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe, goes in search of Shakespeare's indoor playhouse, the immensely influential but now little-known Blackfriars Theatre. He unc
Read more…The Menin Gate Sunday 9 November 2008, 11:45-12:00 160/44; 16 MB; sound quality excellent The Menin Gate, in the small Belgian city of Ypres, stands as an extraordinary symbol of remembrance. The Last Post has sounded there every night since 1929 (
Read more…Jack - 200 Years Up A Beanstalk First broadcast 20080101 Michael Rosen explores one of Britain's classic folk tales. Now a popular bedtime story and pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk first appeared in a pamphlet in 1807. 128/44; 23 MB; encoded fro
Read more…Uncle Sam Goes Pop: The Story Of V-Discs Broadcast on Radio 2, 17 and 24 August and 07 September 2009 Grammy Award-winning singer Patti Austin tells the fascinating story of a short period in the Forties when an alliance of recording artists, the a
Read more…The Reunion Sun 26 Apr 2009 (Duration: 45 minutes) Sue MacGregor brings together a group of people to tell the story of the 1960s 'wonder drug' Thalidomide, which caused so much damage and distress. A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4. 160/
Read more…The Lyrics Of Bob Dylan Broadcast on BBC Radio 2, Saturday 25 April 2009, 22:00-23:00 160/44; 65 MB; sound quality excellent Sometimes they're vicious, excoriating personal attacks; sometimes they're heartwarming, elegant love paeans; they're at o
Read more…What Texting Owes to the Literary Enlightenment (Duration: 30 mins) 160/44; 32 MB; sound quality excellent broadcast 10 Mar 2009, 11:30 on BBC Radio 4. Chris Addison explores the links between modern-day text-speak and the language of the 18th-Ce
Read more…A Problem With Noise 090820, 32/22 normalized Wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson investigates the man-made noise pollution which is becoming increasingly invasive in our lives and in our environment, affecting both humans and wildlife. He explore
Read more…